Underframe body construction for railway cars



Aug. 1, 1967 L. F. REYNOLDS ET AL UNDERFRAME BODY CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 18, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS LEWIS F. REYNOLDS LOUIS M. SKYPALA BY WILLIAM c. HEISLER KENNETH AGENIW Aug. 1, 1967 L. F. REYNOLDS ET AL 3,333,552

UNDERFRAME BODY CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS INVENTORS 75 LEWIS F. REYNOLDS LOUIS M. SKYPALA B WILLIAM c. HEISLER AGENT g- 1, 1967 L. F. REYNOLDS ET L 3,333,552

UNDERFRAME BODY CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 18, 1965 5 Sheets-Shet 3 INVENTORS LEWS F. REYNOLDS LOUIS M- SKYPALA BY WILLIAM C. HEISLER KENNETH W- ROWE 2 R \J] mm 1 mm 8 I 93a HL mm 5 I1 mm a a R I. m 1 u, NIT 2 R Q a A GENT United States Patent 3,333,552 Patented Aug. 1, 1967 time 3,333,552 UNDERFRAME BODY CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Lewis F. Reynolds, Meadowbrook, Louis M. Skypala, Oreland, William C. Heisler, Glenside, and Kenneth W.

Rowe, Trevose, Pa., assignors to The Budd Company,

Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 480,708 2 Claims. (Cl. 105329) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor underframe construction for a railway car in which longitudinal stringer means extend continuous between transverse bolsters and provide support for a floor, a seat base, and support for wire duct enclosure means. Transverse cross-bearers are provided with a low top surface to support the stringer means above, and to permit continuous runs of piping or Wires in the wire duct means placed between the top surface of the cross-bearer and the bottom of the flooring without the necessity of threading the crossbearer. The cross-bearer is made from one piece of sheet metal which is notched, punched brake formed and flange Welded into a variable depth Z section and serves to transmit loads from longitudinal center sill members, and the stringer means to side sill members supporting the side frames of the car.

This invention relates to undeframe body construction for railway cars, and more specifically, to an improved construction which greatly simplifies the arrangement of control units supported beneath the underframe, the arrangement of electrical wiring between such units, and the flooring supported above the underframe.

Heretofore railway transit cars of the type which include electric engine operated side entrance doors, electrical heating elements, and carrying control unit equipment on the underframe beneath such cars, have been provided with a large number of separate local attachments to enable routing of wiring beneath the car floor. The underfloor control equipment consisting of motor generators, resistors, airbrake equipment, batteries, reservoirs and the like, are normally electrically interconnected by wiring which must be protected by a multitude of electrical conduits. The latter conduits are usually first bent and form fitted to extend between the various units and thereafter secured in place by brackets and clamps to the underframe. Prior to such interconnection, the wiring is threaded through the conduits. This operation, in many instances, damages the insulation on the wiring and results in circuit malfunction due to the handling and strain imposed on the Wires by pulling the same through the conduit tubing. The workmen performing these tasks often labor moreover in partially lighted areas under difficult conditions necessitating their handling their material and tools above their heads to install the wire groups within the preinstalled conduit underneath the car. In addition to the above enumerated disadvantages, it has been found further that often in service the great multiplicity of conduits attached to the underframe have been effective to collect debris and trash from the roadbed as a result of the air currents produced by movement of the car, thereby producing a potential fire hazard in the electrical wiring of existing transit cars.

A further disadvantage of prior art underframe construction of railway transit subway cars has been in connection with the flooring employed. Such flooring has taken the form of wooden plyboard which, When subjected to moisture due to the heavy foot traffic, has rotted out. The flooring so employed has normally extended underneath the longitudinal seating disposed on opposite sides of the car to form an undersurface for such seating. The installation of new flooring to replace that which was rotted out, has necessitated the removal of the seating as well as the numerous door actuating engines and heaters disposed in the longitudinal side seating areas. Because of the great multiplicity of electrical outlets and connections required in these areas, the replacement of such defective flooring has been a most difiicult and expensive undertaking.

It is the principal object of this invention therefore to provide an improved underframe body construction for railway cars which avoids one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art arrangements and which lends itself to a simplified assembly.

It is another important object of this invention to provide an improved underframe body construction for a railway transit car which facilitates the initial assembly of flooring Within the car and its subsequent removal therefrom without affecting the seating disposed Within the car.

It is another important object of this invention to provide a novel and improved underframe floor construction for a railway transit car which utilizes ducting or enclosure means to allow for the assembly of the major portion of all underfloor Wires into preassembled enclosures prior to assembly of such ducting within the underframe of the car.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved underframe body construction for a railway car having wire duct enclosure means which is effective to constitute a floor sheet to shield tthe undersurface of the car seating members.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a novel underframe construction which is effective to provide longitudinal support for seating Within the car, to provide edge support for flooring within the car and further, to provide edge support for ducting means within the car.

For better understanding of the present invention, together With other and further objects thereof, a reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope Will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In accordance with the invention an improved underframe construction for a railway car comprises, a pair of longitudinal center sill members extending substantially the full length of the car; a pair of side sill members disposed outside of said center sill members, and longitudinal stringer means disposed between said side sill members and said center sill members. The side sill members are of greater depth than said center sill members enabling the floor loads to be carried from said center sill members to said side sill members by a plurality of crossbearer members spaced along the length of the car. The longitudinal stringers are approximately the same depth as the center sill members and are suitably secured to the crossbearer members. Duct means, which may be preassembled and having planar sheet means extend between the longitudinal stringers and the side still members. The latter duct means are effective to carry the major portion of the wiring extending in a fore and aft direction from the cab control units at opposite ends of the car and to a number of control units supported beneath the car. The longitudinal stringers function additionally to support the seat base of the longitudinally disposed seating on opposite sides of the car and are further eifective to receive and support the sheet flooring disposed above the underframe along a side edge thereof.

In the drawings FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a railway transit car having electrically operated side entrance doors; FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the transit car in plan showing the interior longitudinal seating arrangement on opposite sides of the car; FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the plywood flooring panels supported by a transverse hat member; FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the manner by which the ends of the latter transverse hat members are secured; FIG. 5 is an enlarged showing of the floor plan of FIG. 2 enclosed within the rectangle indicated at 5; FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2 showing the interior side seating arrangement within the body of the car and the underframing beneath the car; FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view enclosed within the rectangular block indicated at 7; FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view enclosed within the rectangular block indicated at 8; FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing the manner by which the crossbearer member is secured to the side sill member; FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the underframe of the car body similar to FIG. 2 but with the side seating and the flooring removed from the top surface of the framing; FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10 showing the various control equipment secured to the underframe of the car; FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 1212 of FIG. 10 showing a portion of the bolster of the car; FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13--13 of FIG. 10 showing an extension of the ducting beneath the car; FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line 1414 of FIG. 10 showing access means to the wire duct; FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line 15--15 of FIG. 12 showing the stringer bolster attaching means; and FIG. 16 is a sectional View taken along the line 1616 of FIG. 12 showing the support means attached to the bolster for the wire duct.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is illustrated as embodied within a rapid transit railway car 10 which comprises an underframe 11, a roof 12, a pair of end walls 13, and a pair of side walls 14, together defining a passenger space. Each side wall 14 includes a plurality of side entrance door openings 15 and a plurality of elongated window openings 16. As best seen in FIG. 2, the interior of the passenger compartment of the car includes longitudinally extending side seats 17, and a plurality of floor panels 18 covered by composition tile squares T. The door entrances are each provided with a threshold panel 20 which may be of lightweight cast aluminum and mounted to facilitate easy installation and removal.

The underframe 11 of the railway car as seen in FIG. 6, and also illustrated in FIG. 10, with the seating and floor panels removed, includes a pair of longitudinal center sills 21, disposed on opposite sides of the major longitudinal axis of the car, and a pair of side sills 23 disposed outside of the center sills. The fore and aft ends of the underframe include a draft sill 25, an end frame 27, and tension straps 29 interlocked one to another and to bolster 30. The bolster serves to transmit loads from the car frame to the undercarriage or trucks of the car, which forms no part of this specification.

A pair of composite longitudinal stringers 33 are provided, one each between each center sill member 21 and its corresponding side sill member 23. The stringers are secured at their opposite ends to bolsters 30 and are effective to constitute a support for the plywood underfloor panels 18, FIG. 2, and further serve to support the seats 19, and other miscellaneous pieces of equipment as shall be set out in greater detail hereinafter. Outer end stringers of the same configuration as stringers 33 extend in an in-line relationship with the stringers 33 from the opposite outer sides of bolsters 30 to connect with the under-frame members 27. Each tension strap is suitably fastened along the length of stringer 35.v

Each floor stringer 33, in accordance with the invention and as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 consists of a channel member 39 and a hat member 40. Channel member 39 includes a vertically disposed central web portion 41, a top horizontal flange portion 42 which is adapted to receive and support hat member 40, and a lower horizontally disposed flange portion 43. Hat member 40 is of a generally inverted U-shaped configuration having inner and outer horizontally disposed flange portions 44 and 45 respectively. It is noted that the previously mentioned center sills 21 are approximately the same depth as stringers 33, whereas the side sills 23 are approximately twice as deep as the center sills and stringers 33.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 10, a plurality of crossbearer members 46 are spaced along the length of the car between the bolsters 30 and are effective to transmit loads from the center sill members 21 outwardly to the side sill members 33. The crossbearer 46 in the present form of the invention may be made from one piece of sheet metal, suitably notched, punched, brake formed and flange welded, into a variable depth Z-section. The crossbearer includes a top horizontal flange portion 47, extending in one direction outwardly from one face of its vertical web portion 48 and a lower horizontal flange portion 49 extending outwardly from the opposite face of web 48. The portion of the crossbearer 46, lying immediately beneath the center sills 21, is of uniform depth and includes the greatest height of vertical web 48. Outboard of the center sills the lower margin. of the web 48 tapers upwardly and outwardly to clear the lower flange 50 of the side sills 23. A gusset bracket 51, FIG. 9, includes a flange portion 52 which is suitably welded to the inner face of vertical web 53 of side sill 23, and an inwardly turned flange 55 normal to flange 52, is aflixed to Web 48 of crossbearer 46. A tongue-like flange 56 also extends at right angles from the lower portion of flange portion 52 and thereafter slopes downwardly to engage the bottom face of the aforementioned lower horizontal flange 49 of crossbearer 46. The previously mentioned flanges of gusset bracket 51 may 'be suitably plug welded to the side sill 23 and crossbearer 46 to enable transmission of loads from the latter to the former.

A pair of vertically disposed angle brackets 60, FIG. 6, are provided to secure the central web portion 48 of the crossbearer to the center sills 21. The lower portions of the angle brackets are suitably plug welded to' web 48 of the crossbearer and their upper portions are likewise affixed to the vertical webs 61 of the center sills 21. In order to avoid undue fatigue problems the top horizontal flange 47 of crossbearer 46 does not engage the lower horizontal flanges 21a of center sills 21. In a similar fashion a pair of angle brackets 62 disposed outboard of brackets 60 are suitably affixed at their lower portions to the web of the crossbearer and at their upper projecting end portions in facing engagement With the vertical flanges 41 of the aforementioned stringer channel members 39.

Referring now to FIG. 10, it is observed that a few of the numerous units of control equipment required for a railway transit car are shown supported beneath the end frame 11 of the car. Such units may include a battery box 65, a main control switch and fuse box 66, a motor generator 67, a main control unit 68, resistors 69 and 70 cooperating with such main control unit, volume and supply reservoirs 71 and 72 respectively, and air brake control apparatus 73. It should be understood that the propulsion controls for the car are originated from the cab ends located at opposite extremities of the car. As a consequence all circuits for the aforementioned control units to a large extent assume a longitudinal directed flow relative to the majorlongitudinal axis of the car. It will be appreciated that to accommodate all the primary and secondary control circuits, a great multitude of wires are required to permit initiations of manual and automatic control by the operator.

As seen in FIG. 6, the top flange 47 of the crossbearer 46 lies beneath the lowermost flanges 21a of the center sills 21 and the lower flange 43 of channel 39 of longitudinal stringers 33. In addition, crossbearer 46 as seen in FIG. 9, ties into the lower portion of stringer 23 leaving the space above open to receive wire duct means 75 carrying wiring W therethrough. Accordingly, the duct means 75 in accordance with the invention may be positioned between the aforementioned longitudinal stringers 33 and the side sills 23 so as to run without obstruction throughout the length of the car and to tie into the bolsters 30 disposed at its opposite ends. The aforementioned duct means 75 facilitates rapid bench assembly of the major portion of all the wiring W required for a transit car in manufacturing areas that are considerably more favorable in improving the rate of production. The wiring may be bench assembled in an area remote from the underframe of the railway car by first placing the desired and appropriate wires W within channel member 76. Thereafter a sheet 80 is placed on top of horizontal flanges 78 and 79 of upright side walls 77 and seam welded to said flanges. In this manner the wiring, indicated by W in combination with lower duct member 76 and the top plate 80, may be completed as a sub-assembly and suitably inspected prior to transporting the same to the floor assembly area of the underframe wherein the end frame of the railway car is located. The sub-assembly may then be lifted above the underframe and thereafter lowered into place so that one side marginal edge of plate 80 is supported on the top surface of horizontal flange 45 of hat 40 of stringer 33 while the other side marginal edge is secured to flange 81 of side sill 23. When so located and positioned the marginal edges may then be welded to the side sill and stringer to afl'ix the same in a permanent location. As seen in FIG. 4, the leftmost edge of plate 80 overlaps the top surface of bolster and its right edge overlaps the other bolster 30 at the other end of the car.

As best seen in FIG. 10 and FIG. 14, a plurality of openings 84 fitted with access doors 85 are provided along the lower bottom surfaces of channel member 76 to enable the installation, repair, change or maintenance of wiring W contained within the duct means 75. Such doors may be in the form of covers having a downturned edge or flange 86. Angle members 87 suitably welded to vertical webs 77 of the channel are provided to cooperate with sealing rings 88 and fastening elements 89 to secure the covers in place. It is seen that the duct assemblies equipped with such access openings enable future expansion of the electrical system without penalty and furthermore eliminates a multitude of electrical conduits, numerous clips and fastening devices. In addition, the straight feed through of the wiring eliminates the potential damage to the installation of the wiring due to handling and strain imposed upon the wiring as a result of pulling the same around bends and through constricted passageways.

In order to tie-in the opposite ends of the duct means 75 to the bolsters 30, a plurality of box-like fittings 90 projecting in a fore and aft direction are suitably aflixed to the bolsters 30. Each fitting consists of a bottom plate 91 which is edge welded to vertical flange 92 of the bolster 30 and a pair of upstanding side walls 93 and 94. The lower plate is positioned in a manner to incline upwardly so as to telescopingly engage the lower surface of channel member 76. The side wall members 93 and 94 are similarly edge welded to the vertical flange of the bolster and are joined among their sloping bottom edges to the aforementioned inclined bottom plate 91. A suitable sealant material S may be applied between the overlapping portions of the channel member with the box fitting thereby eliminating the entry of excess moisture within the duct means. It is also noted that the aforementioned top plate 80 of the duct means 75 functions to seal off the lower portion of the seats 17 and thereby eliminate the necessity for an additional shield member beneath the seats 19. As seen 6 in FIGS. 12 and 16, the vertical web 92 of the bolster includes access apertures 95 to permit passage of the wires W therethrough.

With reference now to FIGS. 12 and 15 it is seen that a tie-in fitting 97 is also provided for each end of stringer 33 to bolster 30. The fitting is of plate-like form and is edge welded along its back edge 98 to web 92 of the bolster and along its top and bottom edges 99 and 100 respectively and to the top and bottom flanges of the bolster. The plate includes a tongue portion 101 extending in a fore and aft direction which is suitably welded to vertical web 41 of channel 39 of stringer 33.

With further reference now to FIGS. 6 and 7, it may be observed that the top surface of the wire ducting means 75 in the form of top plate 80 supports a plurality of motors M, only one of which is shown. The top plate may be suitably apertured as 103 to permit passage of wires therethrough. The motors are enclosed by the seat assemblies 17 which include a depending sheet base portion 105. An angle member 107 is secured to the lower portion of the seat base 105 and to the horizontal web 108 of hat member 40 thereby transmitting passenger seat loads into stringer 33. As indicated by the curved line C, the edge of the plywood flooring may be lifted or lowered in a manner so as to clear the aforementioned seat base 105, thereby facilitating rapid repair or replacement of the flooring. It is also observed that lateral placement of the hat member 40 relative to channel member 39 of stringer 33 enables modular sized sheets of plyboard 18 and tiles T to be utilized. With reference to FIG. 2, the plywood floor sheet 18 may be lifted to lie in a vertical plane and then rotated through the angle 0 to remove the same from the interior of the car. Thereafter, a replacement panel may be substituted for that which was removed. Thus, neither the seats nor the motors or other equipment beneath the seats need to be disturbed in any way during such an operation.

Considering now FIGS. 2, 5 and 8, the cast threshold members 20 are provided to overcome a continuing maintenance problem of floor and tile replacement due to heavy traflic wear, water and Weather damage within entranceways 15. As in the case of the aforementioned plywood flooring 18, the threshold members are arranged for easy replacement. Each member is generally of rectangular form and includes a decorative pattern 106 on its top surface which constitutes an antislip tread surface. The end of each member 20, as seen in FIG. 5, is notched as at 107 to accommodate an upright door post 108. The notch also accommodates a door frame assembly 109 which consists of sheet frame post 110 having an edge folded upon itself, a channel 111 received within the fold, and a corrugated stiffener member 112 suitably aflixed as by welding to the inner face of frame post 110. As seen in FIG. 8, the lower surface of threshold 20 includes a plurality of reinforcing ribs 115 for structural requirements and further includes enlarged bosses 116 and 117. Bosses 116 rest upon the inner marginal edge of plate 80 and above flange 44 of hat member 40, While boss 117 rests upon the top horizontal flange 23a of side sill 23. Suitable securing means 118, 119 are provided and passed through the bosses to lock the threshold in position.

With reference to FIG. 13 it can be seen that an alternate form of wire ducting may be provided between the bolter 30, FIG. 10, and the cab area indicated by the reference numeral X at the extreme right hand side of the figure. For this purpose a stringer 33a of the same crosssectional configuration but of shorter length is shown extending between bolster 30 and end frame 27. Stringer 33a includes a channel member 39a, a hat member 40a having horizontal flange portions 44a and 45a. A cover plate extends between flange 45a and the top flange 120 of side sill 23. In a similar manner a lower cover plate 121 is provided and extends in an in-line relationship with the lower flange 43a of channel 39a. The opposite edge of the cover plate extends normal to the vertical web of side sill 23 to align with an angle support 123 which has its vertical leg 124 aflixed to the inner face 53 of side sill 23. The other flange extends inboard horizontally above the outer margin of plate 121. Sealing means 126 are provided between the latter horizontal flange 125 and plate 121 prior to assembly and locking together by means of fastening devices 128. Similarly a seal 129 extends between the downturned inner edge 130 of plate 121 and a corresponding downturned edge of flange 133.

With reference now to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, floor panels 18 are separated in a fore and aft direction along the length of the car by means of a plurality of hat members 133. Each such member includes a pair of horizontal flanges 134 and 135. Adjacent plywood panels 18 are shown resting on the top surfaces of said flanges and secured in place by suitable fastening element 136. A filler material 137 may be used to fill the voids between the marginal edges of the plyboard and the hat member prior to securing the tile T thereabove. The plyboard 18 may include a lower metallic layer 138 such as aluminum to provide increased stifiness and moisture resisting capability adjacent its lower surface. As seen in FIG. 4, the opposite ends of the hat member 133 tie into hat member 40 of longitudinal stringer 33.

Although the above description discloses the invention as applied to a low cost transit railway car underframe, it is to be understood that the invention may be employed in connection with other types of railway cars, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention and it is therefore aimed, in the appended claims, to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway car underframe construction, the combination comprising a pair of longitudinal center sill channel members disposed in spaced side by side relation on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the car, a pair of longitudinal side sill members disposed on opposite outer sides of said car, a pair of longitudinal stringer means each disposed between a center sill and a side sill member, a plurality of crossbearer members disposed transversely beneath said center sills and said stringer means and aflixed to said side sill members, said stringer means including a channel member and a hat member disposed on its top portionyduct means supported between said hat member and said side sill member, said duct means including a top plate supported by said hat member and said side sill member and a channel member depending from the lower surface of said plate member, said rail car further including a plurality of seats disposed on each side of the car above said side sill members and said stringer members, said seats including a base portion supported by said hat member, said plate member of said duct means serving to function as a car floor to protect the underportions of said seats.

2. In a railway car underframe construction, the combination comprising a pair of longitudinal center sill channel members disposed in spaced side by side relation on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the car, a pair of longitudinal side sill members disposed on opposite outer sides of said car, a pair of longitudinal stringer means each disposed between a center sill and a side sill member, a plurality of crossbearer members disposed transversely beneath said center sills and said stringer means and affixed to said side sill members, said stringer means including a channel member and a hat member disposed on its top portion, duct means supported between said hat member and said side sill member, said duct means including a top plate supported by said hat member and said side sill member and a channel member depending from the lower surface of said plate member, a plurality of seats disposed on each side of the car above said duct means, said seats including a downwardly depending base member engaging the hat member of said stringer means, a plurality of motor means secured on said duct means and beneath said seats, said duct means being adapted .to carry electrical circuit means for said motor means and constituting an underflooring for said seats.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 922,782 5/1909 Koch -401 1,803,482 5/1931 Mussey et al 105-329 2,183,054 12/1939 Tesseyman et a1 105414 2,700,507 1/ 1955 Candlin et a1. 23740 2,946,297 7/1960 Dean et al 105416 X ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner. 

1. IN A RAILWAY CAR UNDERFRAME CONSTRUCTION, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL CENTER SILL CHANNEL MEMBERS DISPOSED IN SPACED SIDE BY SIDE RELATION ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF THE CAR, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL SIDE SILL MEMBERS DISPOSED ON OPPOSITE OUTER SIDES OF SAID CAR, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL STRINGER MEANS EACH DISPOSED BETWEEN A CENTER SILL AND A SIDE SILL MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF CROSSBEARER MEMBERS DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY BENEATH SAID CENTER SILLS AND SAID STRINGER MEANS AND AFFIXED TO SAID SIDE SILL MEMBERS, SAID STRINGER MEANS INCLUDING A CHANNEL MEMBER AND A HAT MEMBER DISPOSED ON ITS TOP PORTION, DUCT MEANS SUPPORTED BETWEEN SAID HAT MEMBER AND SAID SIDE SILL MEMBER, SAID DUCT MEANS INCLUDING A TOP PLATE SUPPORTED BY SAID HAT MEMBER AND SAID SIDE SILL MEMBER AND A CHANNEL MEMBER DEPENDING FROM THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID PLATE MEMBER, SAID RAIL CAR FURTHER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SEATS DISPOSED ON EACH SIDE OF THE CAR ABOVE SAID SIDE SILL MEMBERS AND SAID STRINGER MEMBERS, SAID SEATS INCLUDING A BASE PORTION SUPPORTED BY SAID HAT MEMBER, SAID PLATE MEMBER OF SAID DUCT MEANS SERVING TO FUNCTION AS A CAR FLOOR TO PROTECT THE UNDERPORTIONS OF SAID SEATS. 